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Post by siobhan on Jan 12, 2017 15:25:28 GMT -5
Parronts are fascinated with poop, whether we intended to be or not, am I right? It's often our first, best indicator that something is wrong with our babies because they hide it so well.
Turns out, that's true of all critters. I'm a reporter and this morning I visited our local zoo (which is not your typical zoo; the animals all have beautiful habitats as close to natural as possible, they have names, and they're mostly tame so the keepers can walk right in and rub their heads, even, believe it or not, one of the alligators!). I was doing a story about the medical care they provide to the critters, and the zoo director was telling me the same things -- that critters hide illness and injury and the keepers have to know them so well that they can spot the slightest abnormality and have the vet check it out. And ... poop is one of the things they keep a close eye on. When he told me that and I burst out laughing, I had to explain that I'm a poop watcher myself (so he wouldn't think I'd lost my mind). That was the first and only indication I had that all was not right with Maggie, and her first abnormal poop was only hours before her death, not enough time to do anything about it.
So feel good about your obsession with poop! Even professionals are doing it! The vet agreed with the zoo director that it's critical to know what's normal and what isn't with critter poop! This vet is the one and only certified avian specialist in our whole STATE and works at the University of Illinois, teaching veterinary students. He had a whole gaggle of them with him this morning who were furiously taking notes.
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Post by duckysmom on Jan 12, 2017 15:56:35 GMT -5
Well, now I don't feel so silly asking Ducky how his poop has been today. LOL. Bill says I have a poop obsession when it comes to Ducky, but I remember when my Macaw had "funny" poop and I took her in to the vet and it turned out she had an infection and needed antibiotics. I learned then the importance of seeing the signs asap.
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Post by biteybird on Jan 12, 2017 16:36:26 GMT -5
When Bonnie was at the vet last week nearly the first thing he did was to scrape one of her droppings from the newspaper and test it (it was fine). So I agree, YES, poop's important! Siobhan, I would LOVE your job - let me know if you're sick of it and we can swap.  Duckysmom, no doubt Bill respects your poop obsession by now, doesn't he? |
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Post by siobhan on Jan 12, 2017 17:13:22 GMT -5
I love my job some days. Some days not so much. Three-hour school board meetings. Days like today where I had to cover three stories and shoot photos for two of them, all before lunch, which I barely had time to eat. Phone calls from people griping about this, that and something else and blaming me personally for stuff I wrote about, but didn't have anything to do with otherwise. Or yelling at me for writing a story about something because they don't happen to like the something. Or telling me I don't know my job because I haven't written about something they think I should write about. And so forth.
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Post by biteybird on Jan 12, 2017 23:37:41 GMT -5
It's kind of weird how there's never any middle ground, isn't it? It sounds similar to my job in some ways - some days are HORRIBLE, others are excellent, but there doesn't seem to be many days that are just OK/good (with any consistency, anyway).
I'm sure you've learnt a lot of diplomacy skills and can redirect/de-escalate some of the hostility you encounter.
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Post by jenwade on Jan 13, 2017 10:25:55 GMT -5
You are so right about the poop! I had a baby tiel that did not want to be weaned. I had gotten him from a friend who owns a pet store (very ethical store!) and she could no longer care for him with his special needs. I tried as hard as I could too, but we lost him when he was about 5 months old. But on his first vet visit, he checked his poop immediately.
I have also been a reporter. I have a degree in journalism and mass communication and I thought that my dream job would be newspaper reporting. I worked in it for a few months and I loved the job! However, a new publisher took over the paper, and she was very unethical! We clashed from the first day. Finally, she let me go because it was evident that I was not going to bend my ethics for her. And, she wanted to make room on the staff to bring her husband on board. She is still there and has lost nearly everyone that was working at the paper when I was there. She has a very high turn over in her staff because of her lack of ethics. I am glad that I left when I did, even though it wasn't my choice at the time. But I do know what you mean about the stresses of the job. It can be long, hard, but enjoyable at the same time.
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Post by easttex on Jan 13, 2017 13:17:10 GMT -5
I call myself a poopologist, though only self-educated. I try to apply my skills to all the animals here. I can always tell when a toad has been on our porch. Mockingbird poop is frequently purple. I can guess how close a bluebird brood is to fledging by the size of the fecal sacs. I have yet to learn how to tell the difference between fox and coyote poop. So much to learn, so little time.  |
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Post by julianna on Jan 13, 2017 13:18:10 GMT -5
It is amazing how much the Quaker poop can change depending on what they have been eating. I have seen it reddish, orange, greenish, white, runny and solid. To those that are new on here, before you panic because their poop has changed, remember what they had eaten shortly before and that might give you the answer.
My job before I retired was working for the Government in Property Assessment which results in property taxes. I absolutely loved my job but I rarely would mention where I worked because every time I did, someone would always start with the insults. I should do this... and that... and this is not fair... blah blah blah. Trying to explain that we are following the Federal Government laws is never enough.... and I guess people figured I should change those laws... lol.
Anyway.... happy to be retired and enjoy my life with Oscar and has various colors of poop. lol
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Post by siobhan on Jan 13, 2017 15:46:31 GMT -5
The first time the Quakers went on a red pellet binge and had red poop, I freaked out, but thankfully, one of them (probably Jade, she's the most helpful) happened to be munching a red pellet and I noticed how few red pellets remained in the dish. Oh, wait. THAT's why the poop is red. Whew. LOL Rocky has days where he hardly drinks any water and other days when he acts like he just got here from a trip through the Mojave without a canteen. On those days, his poop is watery. Again, momentary freak-out then, oh. He's been sticking his head in his water dish over and over today. Everything's actually just fine. Whew.
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Post by Jan and Shah on Jan 14, 2017 0:08:35 GMT -5
I call myself a poop inspector - but poopologist sounds better - thanks Easttex. I check the birds' poops, the kittens' poops, the dog's poop and the pony's poop when I visit her. Not only do I inspect it, I smell it as well and often break it into pieces to see if anything is amiss.
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Post by easttex on Jan 14, 2017 6:25:12 GMT -5
P.I. doesn't sound bad, either.  Do you ever wonder what goes through a critter's mind when you obsess over their droppings? |
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Post by siobhan on Jan 16, 2017 11:09:33 GMT -5
If those critters are parrots, they assume that their minions are obsessed with everything about them, and SHOULD be.
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Do you ever wonder what goes through a critter's mind when you obsess over their droppings?